Video: Secret Drawer Slab Table

In this video, Paul Jackman makes a table from a 140 year old hard maple cookie slab from my grandmother's property.

Paul Jackman took a 200 pound maple slab off his grandmother's property that had grown since the late 1800s and turned it into a unique and attractive table.

You can find more great projects and techniques from Paul Jackman at his website.

Featured Tools:

Rockler Material Mate Panel Cart and Shop Stand

Rockler Taper / Straight Line Jig

Rockler Router Bit Center/Depth Gauge

Arbortech Power Carving Unit

Rockler Pattern Flush Trim Router Bit

vcRockler HVLP Finishing Sprayer

Paul Jackman: Yes, that's the expression of a guy who just had to carry 200 pounds of maple up the stairs after lugging it around for three and a half years, moving it at least eight different times. Flashback to 2018, salvaging this chunk of wood with my perfectly adequate electric chainsaw.

The turbo plane in the power carving unit is great for knocking off the paint on all the high spots but this end grain hard maple is tough stuff. I'm going to use a router sled with a big beefy router bit to level the rest of this off to get it close. Then I'm going to use robots to dial it in.

By the way, it's no joke. I've been hauling this slab of wood around for three and a half years. I salvaged a bunch of this hard maple from a tree that had to be taken down at my grandmother's house. That's what makes this wood so special. It really gives this finished piece such a story.

Actually, counting the rings on this thing dates this thing back to the late 1800s. About 130, 140 years old. It's a tree that my mother and her siblings used to climb and play in. My family tapped this thing to make maple syrup. You can actually see a bunch of scars here right on the surface of the table. That's where the maple tree was tapped and healed itself around that spot.